03 May, 2013

Here are a few photos of Pass Hunter Prototypes. Basically this new frame is a randonneuse, but with canti brakes. The cantis allow wider tires with fenders and more powerful braking. The Pass Hunter is built using slightly lighter tubing than the Polyvalent or Campeur. It has mid-trail geometry, much like the Campeur.

The term "pass hunter" refers to the sport of riding over mountain passes, more popular in France and Japan than here. Rules are explained on this page. In addition to randoneuring and pass hunting, the Pass Hunter would make a nice sportiff or even a fast credit card tourer. We hope to have them in stock in early fall.

That's a beautiful frame. I love the fork crown and lugwork. I think I prefer the red (could be that I already have a blue bike.) I wouldn't be opposed to a single decal on the top of the downtube. It's a little different and I personally haven't seen many like that... sometimes less is more imho. You may be able to tempt me, although I typically prefer quill stems/threaded headsets. I keep looking at my old road bike and old MTB wishing I could combine some of their details into the perfect combo for a single and affordable on/off-road bike (lugged steel with downtube bosses, canti or v-brake posts and a few other braze-ons for light loads) This might be what I'm looking for. Parting with my project bikes to make room will be the hard part.

Ooh- tantalizing! This one may well be my first Velo Orange frame- especially if you listen to the throng and make it ORANGE! (Otherwise, blue gets my vote.) I prefer the classic single top decal, but honestly the decals don't bother me much either way. Cannot wait to see specs; kuddos.

I'm very disappointed to see that this bike might be threadless. As a tall guy, I'm usually at the top of an uncut fork, and/or I get tired of playing the "cut/don't cut" game with the fork. I miss the easy height adjustment of threaded headsets.

two decals. i don't want others having to straddle my top tube in order to know the cool brand name of my gorgeous bike. has any builder ever done a single decal on top of the down tube? i am for all sorts of trend setting, but not the single decal thins.

This could be the frame for me. I prefer the red with 2 decals, but the blue looks good too. Any ETA?

Question: Previously you said this would be standard diameter (1" top tube) tubing but slightly thinner wall thickness (0.8/0.5/0.8?). How does that make it stiffer than the Rando? Has this changed to oversized tubing?

"This is an all-new frame, not an update of the Rando, in short it's lighter, stiffer, and more refined. We'll post geometry and final specs when the frames arrive."

Gorgeous lugs. I like both the red and the blue, and I don't mind the shimmer on the blue; reminds me of my old trek 620 (which is now powder-coated orange). Keep the decals to a minimum, or put them on over the clear coat so folks can take them off.

Beautiful frame, but threadless kills it. There are too many threadless steel frames out there (Surly, All-City, etc.) and not enough threaded at a reasonable price. I've been waiting for this frame to replace my well-worm Surly Pacer so I can run wider tires and get the adjustability (and classic looks) of a quill stem. Please tell us you'll offer it in a threaded version!

Keep the darn thing threadless. This is 2013 - we can all drop the annoying trope about needing a quill stem for constant adjustments. Do you still use non-aero levers so that we can adjust our levers on the fly? No - and bar height is basically a set-it and forget-it kinda thing.

Please have a threaded fork with a quill stem. One inch. There are many bikes out there already with threadless stems such as Soma and Surly to name a few. Being older I want to have the option to raise the stem if needed. Red looks really good on this and I love the VO headbadge. Cannot wait to see the final product.

I know this is a hotly debated topic but I am disappointed to see a threadless stem. Yes, this is 2013 and as one commenter pointed out there are plenty of steel threadless stem bikes out there. I think most of the folks who want the quill stem, myself included just want to be able to get the handle bars up higher without an ugly pile of spacers. I don't think too many people would argue that a 1" threaded stem is more elegant than any of the available threadless handlebar boosting options. A dark red leaning towards maroon would be nice and more classic than a bright red.

Anon at 4:00pm hasn't been riding long enough if he thinks stem height is set it and forget it. As I approach my 8th decade, I find my "bars get higher and my gearing gets lower". I am thankful for the adjustability on my six bikes ranging from 20 to 47 years old.

I own 3 V-O bikes and they're my favorite rides, but if you're moving to threadless stems then I've bought my last V-O bike. Limitations in the adjustability of threadless stems have caused me problems (and cost me a lot of money to correct them), and I decided a couple of years ago to never buy another one. I never thought I'd have to cross a V-O bike off my list for that reason, but I guess I was wrong. Would you mind telling us what drove you to change your philosophy on this?

Looks great I like the red with two decals. I hope the 51cm and 53cm frames are not made with its top and bottom tubes intercepting before meeting the head tube. This made the campeur look pretty ugly. If this frame looks and rides right, I might buy my second frame from VO.

Love the colors! Either ones look great. The red sticks out because there are not that many red bikes. I love the VO headbadge on the bike. Please make it a quill stem. I am older and it just makes it so easy to adjust the handlebar height which is so important for proper fit. As other posters have said there are many threadless bikes out there already. I vote for threaded one inch with a quill stem!

This bike checks pretty much everything off my wish list. I'd like to +1 the pearlescent orange from the schwinn voler, voyagers also commonly came in that color and my 77 paramount is that color. I really think it's the prettiest paint color I've seen on a bike and would love to see it revived it really makes my nervex lugs pop without being too flashy at a distance. I'd prefer threaded out of habit but it's not a deal breaker if it significantly brings the price point down.

Once you start doing the decorative reinforcing rings at the head tube, and the brazed-on seat collar, and the seatstay caps, what advantages are there to staying with TIG'ed joints? My preference, regardless of color or threadlessness, is for lugged construction. Why not?

You hit a home run with the bi-plane fork crown. Beautiful, and you just don't see them much anymore. Happy to see it threadless albeit I can understand why folks would want a quill on a repro Constructeur. Not a fan of either color though. Color(s) should be a bit more classy/muted on a frameset like that. Good job.

When you combine a long quill, a short steer tube, movement in a less secure headset (esp due to loosening effect of forces at the cable hanger)and a load up front (even a small one), the effects on steering are noticeable. That's my experience with my vintage and modern tourers. YMMV.

I love the blue, but I've always been partial to orange bikes. Frankly, the frame is so nice that I'd probably be perfectly content with any color. I would, however, much prefer a threaded fork. Thank you.

Red.Although I wouldn't mind an Orange should you give in to popular demand.At first, I didn't even realize the frame combined TIG'd joints with the other brazed details... From the close-up photos of the headtube and fork I made the assumption it would be fully lugged. Not a deal breaker for me, though. I'm a fan of the overall design and pending available sizes and other specs I may be swayed. VO, I bet you didn't intend for this to turn into the threaded vs. threadless debate... but I've used both and appreciate all of their benefits. My latest fixer-upper uses your threadless quill adapter and I couldn't have done without the detachable faceplate of the threadless stem. I was able to swap out multiple handlebars with ease until I found the perfect fit while the quill allowed effortless height adjustment. Now I know where I want my bars and I could get myself a proper quill for that frame and use the adapter for the next re-build!

It's a pretty frame; I'd be tempted to buy one except that all I'd want from it would be the fork :-) (And as for threadless vs. threaded, it seems like the easiest way to get a threaded fork is to find a lbs with the appropriate die and have them add an inch or so's worth of threads? It's a lot easier to thread a threadless fork than it is to threadless a threaded fork!)